Heretofore, vehicle door assemblies have conventionally included full outer and inner panels, and full interior trim panels, wherein assembly of the interior components is accomplished prior to assembly of the inner door trim panel, and access to the interior components for repair requires removal of the full interior trim panel. Full interior trim panels are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,791,693; 3,989,275; 5,040,335; 5,048,234; 5,095,659; 5,102,163; and 5,297,842; in Japanese patent nos. 4-87832; 4-197842; 5-310082; and 5-330343; and in European publication 0 579 535 A1.
Japanese patent no. 5-330343 discloses an inner door panel having first molded trim panel mounted thereon, a separate trim panel mounted on the latter, and an arm rest mounted on the separate panel.
Grimes U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,335 discloses an inner substrate covered by a foam backing layer, which is, in turn, covered by an inner shell.